Week 10: A Little Bit of This, A Whole Lot of That

A quick update on Week 10 nutrition...

I started integrating carbs back into my diet in a very controlled way. Brown rice was first - with no problem - and oatmeal was second. Also no problem.

Meals are way more frequent, and much smaller. I'm eating five times a day with small servings of protein (3 0z), brown rice (1/2 cup), and green vegetables (plain, unlimited). I start the day with 1/2 cup oatmeal, a half scoop of protein powder and a tablespoon of flax oil or coconut oil.

My exercise program has completely changed. I eliminated all cardio except for 40 minutes of high intensity interval training one time each week. I'm focusing my efforts on weight training and taking a day off with yoga or pilates.

I feel good. The scale is down seven pounds (although it doesn't matter) and I'm down a dress size and even bought a child's size swim shirt last week. I'm pretty much ready to throw on a bikini for my upcoming vacation.

But I can't eat like this forever.

For one, it's boring. Rice, chicken and salmon are great. But four times a day? Not so much.
It's also time consuming. If I'm leaving the house for any length of time, I have to tote food with me. Cold rice and cold chicken and salmon are not good. I'm also cooking a lot of protein each day, just to have on hand for every meal. Too much work.

Once I'm home from vacation, I'll go back to something that resembles high protein, controlled carbs and more food options.

And no, on vacation, there's no way I'll eat like this. I'll definitely steer clear of desserts but I plan to fully enjoy yummy meals at every opportunity.

As for the exercise, I don't know when I'll make the switch back to cardio. I'm finding that I enjoy the weights much more.

I will say that the biggest rewards from being on 10 weeks of the program are the compliments from friends and clients. I definitely feel like I worked hard, harder than I thought I could, and it's nice to get a little validation from all the effort.

I'll check in during the first part of August.

Be well.
janeen.

Week 9: Momentum and Intution

I am roughly nine weeks into my nutrition program and I'm feeling the effects of extreme deprivation and hard, hard physical activity.

When I think about the last nine weeks, I'm amazed that I've been able to keep pace and stay the course with this rigid plan. My momentum was, up until last weekend, pretty darn stellar. But as is always the case, momentum can be both good and bad.

Last weekend, it was bad.

I was at my sister's house and she had a whole spread of food. Never mind that she had stocked up on protein and veggies for me. All I wanted were the things I couldn't have.

So I had them. And I had a lot of them. I'll spare you the details.

I got sick. I was sick for two days.

I asked myself, "why?"

The thing is, the momentum that saw me through nine weeks turned on me, this weekend, and became the most slippery slope. I couldn't stop with the margarita and the beer. I couldn't stop with the chips and salsa. I couldn't stop after the cookie. But I had to stop after the pie.

And that is what deprivation will do.

There's a reason that cheating is encouraged on diets. It's a built in way of allowing pleasure. Because without pleasure, food is no fun. Admittedly, that's how it's been for me for too long.

Nine weeks is too long to go without a treat!

And nine treats are too many to have in one sitting.

Do you see the point here? I do. I see it oh-so-clearly and now I get it, too: Indulge periodically. It's OK."

So, that's my soapbox moment on momentum. Go with it, but give it a break now and then too. Otherwise, it will turn around and totally beat you up.

Now, on to the semantics of the program.

At Week 8, I checked my weight and it was the same as when I started the program. Up a few ounces, in fact. But if I've learned anything during this program, it's this: the scale doesn't tell the whole tale and it never will.

I had my nutritionist check my body fat and my lean muscle mass. Body fat was down to 19% (from 25%) and muscle mass stayed the exact same (which is good).

So, once again, I have a good reason to throw out my scale, because it just doesn't provide an accurate picture. Ever.

I am pretty happy at 19% body fat. I've been as low as 16% before and that's not the greatest look for me. I could stay at 19% and be quite happy.

It is likely that the nutrition program has helped "reset" my endocrine system and thyroid and also likely that I will come off that medication in the next month. I haven't had a migraine since the program started which is huge and my doctor thinks that there is also a correlation between my nutrition and my headaches.

All this is good.

However, I've been starting to do more strength training and less cardio. I'm tired. My body doesn't feel like it's getting what it needs - in the way of energy - to sustain moderate lifting at the gym and long pilates sessions.

This is not good.

I'm waking up hungry at night and I'm ravenous in the morning. Eggs aren't cutting it. Neither is salad. I can't get back in the "ketosis" zone. My body is definitely talking to me. I don't want it to turn on me again.

Meanwhile, I have another eight weeks on my current program and my nutritionist isn't "allowing" for modifications just yet. I hope she's not reading this.

A colleague of mine, who happens to be a competitor for figure competitions, and who has the body of a supermodel, took one look at me and said, "You're not getting enough carbs. You look tired."

I told her about my diet. She gave me some ideas. Basically, if I'm going to be lifting weights and doing some cardio, I have to have grains. She suggested eating every three hours. Five mini-meals a day. I have to re-calibrate my protein. Less at each meal. Three ounces. And only brown rice as a carb, with the exception of a half-cup of oatmeal in the morning.

So, now, instead of four eggs in the morning, I'm having two, with the oatmeal. Then, four small meals of lean protein and a little brown rice and some green vegetables. I'm also keeping the flax, since it such a great supplement, and the apple cider vinegar, too.

No sugar. No other refined carbohydrates. No fruit. Lots and lots and lots of water. With a few tweaks, my friends says I can continue "re-setting" the thyroid, but in a way that supports my physical activity and output, and allows for more energy (hopefully).

I'm taking a week long break from my nutritionist. We'll see how I feel in a week. While I'm not opposed to going carb-free again, I certainly don't feel like it's working for me right now.

My intuition has always been one of my most powerful tools. Having body awareness is a huge component of good intuition and it's served me well in the past. I trust that it will now, too.

Weeks 6 & 7: The Final Piece of the Puzzle

I am almost back to my old self. Except that my blood pressure is way too low.

The blood pressure issue has been the last - and the most puzzling - piece of the endocrine puzzle and I think I'm finally on my way to a completed picture.

Meanwhile, the nutrition program is going forward without any glitches and I'm feeling sooooooooo great! It's a whole new mindset for me; this eating with a very structured plan. I like it. My body likes it.

I've been on the list to see a specialist here in Sacramento for a long time. One of the best docs in the area - who happens to be on my PPO plan - agreed to see me months ago and our appointment was today. What I am about to share next is truly unbelievable: he spent an hour and forty-five minutes with me. He is, in a word, unbelievable.

He is also very perplexed by my blood pressure and thinks that it is somehow tied in to the entire endocrine shut-down. He even thinks that I could give up the endocrine meds, and that I could sleep better and that I would be much more energetic during the day. All this is possible: my heart just needs to beat faster!

While I was in the office, the doctor did an EKG and the nurse took my blood pressure no less than eight times. It almost became comical: "Stand up, sit down, lie down, do a back flip." You get the point.

The doctor got the point too and he is ON IT. I feel completely confident in his ability to figure this all out. He's even going to send me for a sleep study to see how my heart does during rest.

On the nutrition side, I feel like there's been a complete shift in my mindset about food and eating. Structure works for me; handfuls of convenience foods - always on the go - do not. I'm planning out meals now and selecting my favorite sources of protein. Sitting down with a meal that I've put the time and effort into creating is really, really rewarding.

My willpower was truly put to the test this last weekend when I joined a group of friends in Lake Tahoe. The kitchen was loaded with every type of junk food that you can imagine. I had volunteered to do most of the cooking so it was easy to put together meals that were friendly to my program. It wasn't even that hard to make my favorites, polenta and bruschetta for everyone else.

However.

Some of the girls spent an afternoon baking cookies and cakes. The kitchen smelled delicious. In the afternoons, everyone would gather on one of the decks and enjoy wine and cheese. And crackers. And chips. And beer. Those occasions were hard. It was also difficult to make banana bread for the group on the second morning and not have any.

Going into the trip, I vowed to myself that I would not be high maintenance about the food; I would not be that girl. But that commitment required a stash of Atkins bars and a carton of eggs. It worked. Despite having a few vodka/diet 7up concoctions each day, I stayed in the ketotis zone and ate as much protein as I could.

Coming into Week 8 feels like a major accomplishment. I can't believe that I've reached the halfway point of the program and the thing is, I think that this way of eating is going to be with me for life.

I am happy to share information about my new doctor and/or ideas for low carb meals. Please find me at the gym or email me directly.

And do come join our Wednesday night yoga group! We're back; stronger than ever:
Del Norte Club, 7pm.

Best of health,
janeen.

Low Carb Dieting: The Final Word?

One of my favorite authors is Jonny Bowden, a well-known nutritionist in Southern California. Jonny Bowden wrote the book, "150 Healthiest Foods On Earth" and it is arguably one of the best written publications on the healthiest food choices. I bought several copies earlier this year and gave them to clients and friends. I wrote about his book multiple times on this blog. I read it myself practically every day. It's been my food Bible.

So when I picked up the March/April 2010 issue of Pilates Style, I was thrilled to see a large, feature article by Jonny Bowden. Even better was the fact that the topic is one that is near and dear to my heart: the effectiveness of low carb eating.

I have been on a low carb eating plan for almost two months. I eat very few carbs, most of which are vegetables and nuts. I eat a lot of protein. I don't eat sugar. I like eating this way, although I can't say I'll do it forever. But Jonny Bowden thinks that maybe I should.
And so should everyone else.

Let's start with a little background on the low carb trend.

In 2004, it seemed that low carb diets were at the top of the charts. The Atkins diet had just been shown to produce more weight loss than either a low fat diet or a Mediterranean diet in a study published by the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Many other studies around low carb eating showed improvements in triglyceride levels, body composition and reduced risk factors of diabetes.

Low carb was fast becoming the darling of the dieting world. The Zone and The South Beach Diet were both born from the low carb movement. Everyone knew at least one person on Atkins.

And then low carb eating faded, as starches came back en vogue.

According to Bowden, the words "low carb" simply fizzled in the media and in the mainstream. However, Bowden states that, "low carb is wildly effective, perfectly safe and has enormous health benefits." He goes on to say, "Low carb is alive and well, and if you're one the of folks who's historically dismissed it, you may want to take another look."

I've always wondered how low you should go, in terms of carbs. Currently, I eat anywhere from 20 to 40 a day, depending on my physical output and my appetite. The ADA (American Dietetic Association) designates a low carb diet as less than 130 carbohydrates a day. Bowden hardly considers this as "low." But it does provide good framework for a baseline, considering that Americans consume, on average, 300 carbs a day!

Bowden believes that you can get the most of controlled-carb eating and still eat up to 100 carbohydrates a day. He goes on to report that a copious amount of research supports the notion that even a modest reduction in carb intake is enough to stabilize blood sugar, reduce insulin and facilitate weight loss.

In fact, the highlight of the article - in my opinion - is Bowden's statement about simple carb consciousness: "Merely attempting to reduce carbs resulted in vast improvements in weight and overall heath among dieters in several, large scale studies."

One interesting thing that I have noticed in my own low carb eating, is that my mood has shifted dramatically. Once a slave to blood sugar dips and climbs, I am much more stable all day long. I no longer have a need for afternoon caffeine and my energy stays consistently high throughout most days. Bowden says that these improvements are due to insulin sensitivity improvement. He calls it "the dietary trifecta," meaning that insulin is balanced, pounds are being shed and there isn't that ravenous, "I have to eat right now" feeling. I call it pretty darn great.

To tie the issue up with the largest, prettiest bow possible, take note of this next finding. Bowden concludes the article by saying, "Remember, hard as it is to believe, your body has no physiological requirement for carbohydrates." If you're looking to lose weight, Bowden advises to get the vast majority of your carbs from vegetables and fruits, and not from pasta, rice, bread, baked goods, cereal and desserts.

The blueprint for weight loss, Bowden says, is this:

Carbohydrates: 100 to 130 a day (endless amounts of vegetables and berries and some melon)

Protein: 100 to 120 grams a day (poultry, seafood, lean cuts of red meat)

Fat: 60 grams ("good" fats such as olive oil, nuts, flax and avocado)

I was completely encouraged and heartened by this article. It's good to know also, that I can start to increase my carb consumption without giving up the many health benefits that I'm already experiencing.

My advice to my clients, based on this research, is to experiment with low carb eating as it seems appropriate. A gentle start might be replacing your lunch time sandwich with a salad and some protein. Gradually try weaning off of morning cereal and opt for high quality protein sources such as eggs or cottage cheese.

One meal at a time, one day at a time. Always the best approach to any successful dieting program!

Week 5: Life in Kitosis: I Have To Do What With That Stick?

It has been two solid weeks of extreme low carb living. Add those two weeks to the previous three weeks of grain-free eating. So, yes, you've done the math correctly: I have abandoned every culinary treat imaginable for five. long. weeks.

Can I get a collective sigh of sympathy?

Thanks. Now, let me share the news of Week Five.

The first ten days of the "true" low carb plan were a nightmare; the last four have been much more do-able. I think my mind is finally embracing this new way of living; now if my body would only follow!

My doctor put me on such an absurd dose of thyroid medication that I stopped sleeping. I was wired for days. I'm not normally one to deviate from a doctor's orders but after seeing him a second and a third time this month - with the same instructions: "Keep the dose where it is," I took matters into my own hands and sliced all those speed pills in half.

Now I am trying to compensate for the loss of synthetic energy by taking my body into a state of ketosis. Of course, this is all under the careful guidance of my nutritionist, Sydney. Along with a list of "approved" foods (select vegetables, some protein and a whole lot of water), she gave me a testing kit for keytones. Which is kinda like a home pregnancy test. Same procedure, at least.

Gulp.

I never became much of an expert at pregnancy tests but I can say that the last time I peed on a stick and it promptly turned pink, I freaked out. For days. Weeks. For almost ten months. That was over seven years ago.

Now, I live to see a bright pink stick each morning. Because it tells me what I need to know: ketosis is working!

Or not working. If there is a vodka incident the night before! Not that I would know.

Sydney has me testing for keytones every day. Constant ketosis is the goal of this program. Kick start the thyroid and the adrenals by making the body think it's in starvation mode. Great for the 6-pack abs, not so great for the mood.

But all that changed about four days ago when I discovered that I wasn't hungry between meals. I could go from class to clients, back to class, then to clients again and not feel ravenous. I haven't had a headache in six weeks. I gave up my afternoon coffee. I stopped craving sweets. My nutritionist says that this is kitosis. So it's not so hellish after all. I might actually survive, and more importantly, so will those around me!

My body, meanwhile, still thinks it's in hell.

One week into the program and I had lost nearly six pounds. I won't lie; it felt great to slide back into the yoga pants that I had shoved into the depths of my closet in the middle of the winter. I started looking at two-piece swimsuits. My body was starting to resemble its "pre-endocrine blow up" shape. It was not so hard to pass on the pretzels, the crackers, the cake or the chocolate. It was easy to imagine dropping even lower.

Then, exactly one week later at my check-in with Sydney, the weight was all back. And then some.

"What happened?" she asked.

Nothing had happened. I was almost angelic, save for one teeny glass of wine at a party and three bites of a friend's french toast at breakfast. Definitely not enough deviation to warrant the weight gain. Plus, the sticks were still showing a rosy hue of pink every morning.

Determined to defend my good behavior, I told Sydney to measure me. And that's when we noticed that inches had dropped everywhere.

I've always been attached to a number on the scale. Like any other female, I've done my fair share of obsessing over the ups and downs of that damn number. And believe me, I more than freaked out when the scale kept creeping up, up, up this winter.

But a good lesson in all this is that you just can't believe the scale. It lies. It tells stories. It makes you temporarily feel good. It can make you feel really bad. It is not your loyal and consistent friend.

If I was in charge of the nutrition program, I'd toss the scale out for good. It's much easier for me to gauge my success by being honest with myself about how I feel, how my clothes are fitting and how pink those sticks are.

For now, I'll keep weighing in with the understanding that my thyroid is trying to sabotage my weight but also with the knowledge that measurements don't lie, and neither do clothes. Energy doesn't lie, either.

And those pink strips; they're the most honest indicators of all!

Yoga In The Park; It's Oh-So-Good

Move over Reformer and Spinning classes. My new favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings is Yoga In The Park.

This past Saturday morning, I met five friends at McKinley Park. We lined up our mats together, in full view of McKinley's famed rose garden, and spent 75 minutes breathing, moving and appreciating the beauty of being outdoors.

Yoga In The Park was created by local instructor, Gina Garcia. Ironically, I've known Gina for years but am just now enjoying the connection we have together as yogis. Gina has selflessly offered up her talents, her experience and her great playlists to our community with Yoga In The Park. Every class is free, but the experience is priceless.

Since discovering yoga nearly ten years ago, I've often said that the only downside of our Western practice of yoga is that it is generally not widely available to the masses. Studios are too expensive, gyms don't offer a "true experience," and instructors usually don't have the resources or the time to cultivate community outreach through yoga.

But now, thanks to the lovely Gina, all that is changing in the greater Sacramento area.

Gina has completed multiple trainings with the famed Baron Baptiste, who is known for his rigorous, yet passionate practice. One thing I love about Gina's teaching style is the fact that she puts her heart and soul into yoga. Her music is strong, she weaves themes into her teaching and she puts forth an energy that is radiant and warm. As she moves through the rows of students, it's impossible not to feel the sweetness of her presence.

Prepare to work hard in Gina's class. On Saturday, she had us in Bow pose at least three times, possibly four. On my final attempt at the pose, she caught my shoulders from behind and literally arced my back into what felt like the perfect Bow. It was a great adjustment; one that I would expect from a very good and very experienced instructor. It was an adjustment that I'm still feeling, three days later!

I'm going to spend as many Saturday mornings as possible in the park this summer. Each time I've gone, at least two people have joined me. Please email me directly or catch me at the club if you would like to come.

And a big thank you to Gina for taking on such a remarkable community endeavor. She's indeed spreading the best karma possible!



Yoga In The Park takes place during the Spring and Summer months each Saturday at 9:00am in McKinley Park. Class is held behind the Rose Garden. Complete details can be found on the Yoga In The Park Facebook page.

Week 4: How Low Can You Go?

Before I get too far into this week's post, let me throw out a quick reference to the previous post which announces my return to teaching on June 23rd! That's right, I'll be back at Del Norte Club instructing the Intermediate class, also known as our "Yoga Love Fest." I can't wait to see you all then. Now for this week's topic...

I wrote out the title of this post one morning and then thought about the question all day long.

"How low can you go?"

I never knew how low I could go until I got there; and it was a pretty deep place of physical depletion. This spring, instead of experiencing renewal and rejuvenation, my body rebelled in ways that I didn't think were possible and I slipped into a dark well of fatigue, exhaustion and extreme cold. My hair became brittle; my skin lost its luster. My body became so puffy that my clothes didn't fit. I didn't want to exercise, I didn't want to socialize, I hardly had enough energy to be a mother.

Something was definitely wrong, so wrong.

After some major testing, I began a strong course of medication to support my failing endocrine system. I found my nutritionist. I swallowed handfuls of supplements and significantly changed my diet. I started to get better. My clothes started to fit again. My skin was glowing. My workouts were great. My social life looked more promising. The worried look on my son's face went away.

Then I went back to the doctor.

This last week, I found out that my thyroid is functioning at the level of a corpse, that I have the blood pressure of a newborn and that to begin to fix it all - somewhat naturally - I have to put my body in an unnatural state called kitosis.

I'm not totally dialed in to the correlation between kitosis and thyroid function but what I know is that as of last week, my diet changed dramatically and now I am eating a diet so low in carbohydrates that I'm pretty sure I'd qualify for an Atkins award.

Not that I want an award. But I do want to get better in the most holistic possible way. And potentially give up a medication that can't help my thyroid, can't help my blood pressure but can give me a synthetic sense of well being. Somehow, that just doesn't seem right. Anything that makes me feel good synthetically has to be short-lived.

Enter the new diet. Or, "The Plan."

My nutritionist reduced my carbohydrate intake to 20 grams a day. Did you know that a bowl of salad greens accounts for five carbs? Neither did I. But that's what I'm talking about: major caloric restriction.

I have to weigh every carrot, every nut, every lettuce leaf, every onion slice, ev-er-y-THING.

It was a major struggle at first. What to do when your run-of-the-mill protein shake has seven grams of carbs? That's more than a third of my daily allotment. Plain Greek yogurt is exactly half of my carb allowance. Forget an apple. Three strawberries? Maybe. If they're small.

Sydney, my nutritionist, promised that my thyroid would get better. She promised that my blood pressure would normalize. She promised she could get me there. And I believe her.

But I have to follow "The Plan." Strictly. Diligently.

This morning, as I was conducting a major science experiment called rationing out my day's carbs, protein and fat, my mom said what I needed to hear: "I know it's hard but you're doing it for Ben. I know you want to be healthy for Ben."

She's so right. Of course we'll do anything for our children, especially if our child's well-being relies on our own health. As a single mom, I carry this burden so heavily. Ben already spent most of the spring weeks with my mom, while I recovered. I do not want that to happen again. I can't lose any more time with him. So I'm acting. Embracing The Plan. Staying the course. Trusting in the process.

And it' working!

I know that I'm on my way. This is the best that I've felt in months, but boy is it hard, hard work.

Being ever-mindful of major dietary changes, I did quite a lot of research on low carb diets. What I found was surprising. It's not all bad. In fact, the low carb approach can actually be very good for most people. I'll be posting more about those findings.

As it is, I've probably given up grains forever and I never thought I'd say that. But it's a situation where the benefits of being without far outweigh the pleasures of a slice of bread, a bowl of rice or a handful of crackers.

Extreme? Yes. Indeed. But I've found that I can derive just as much pleasure by having a colorful salad with salmon, chicken or steak. And I simply feel cleaner without the grains. I can't explain it, but intrinsically I know that my body runs more efficiently when it's not burdened by the heaviness of most grains.

Lastly, I'm still on a big flax regime and I've added apple cider vinegar, too. I never knew of the health benefits associated with apple cider vinegar; there are so many! Vinegar has a great warming effect once it's in the body. I hadn't noticed it before because the amount I ingested was so minuscule compared to what I take in now. But it's another habit that I can easily see adopting as a life-long part of my wellness. In fact, many of my older clients complain of muscle cramping during our sessions together. Turns out, apple cider vinegar packs a huge amount of potassium. I'm definitely recommending it in lieu of, or in addition to, bananas.

I've deviated a little. I have a diet soda every afternoon. I had a little run-in with vodka. But I haven't touched the grains or the sweets in weeks and that feels like the biggest accomplishment of all.

Every day, I'm getting questions from clients and friends about my program. I'm happy to share what I've learned. Please send any specific inquiries to me or catch me at the club.

Tomorrow is my appointment with Sydney. I'll keep posting updates as I go. In the meantime, I'll be splashing with Ben in the pool, pushing hard on the treadmill, finding a new twist in yoga and enjoying the life that was returned to me!